DENVER (Ticker) -- Nick Van Exel scored eight points in
overtime, including the go-ahead 3-pointer against his old team,
as the Denver Nuggets snapped a four-game losing streak with a
117-113 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Van Exel shot a woeful 3-of-19 for nine points in his first
encounter with the Lakers on February 10. He was struggling for
most of tonight at 1-of-12 through four quarters before catching
fire in the extra period.

Van Exel followed his 3-pointer with a beautiful feed to rookie
Raef LaFrentz for a reverse dunk that gave the Nuggets a 109-106
lead with 2:30 to play.

"Give Nick a lot of credit," Los Angeles coach Del Harris. "His
assisting was spectacular. The timeliness of their scoring is
what hurt us."

Van Exel had 16 points and 13 assists and LaFrentz scored six of
his 20 points in overtime as the Nuggets defeated the Lakers for
the first time in 10 meetings dating to April 9, 1996.

"I was talking trash to everyone tonight," said Van Exel. "I
was saying,`You're going to lose to the Denver Nuggets.' When I
was with L.A., we'd come in here and say, `We cannot lose, no
way.' I'm just glad it happened."

"The win was obviously a big confidence builder for us," added
Denver coach Mike D'Antoni. "We'll have to play at this
intensity that we played in the fourth quarter if we want to
continue to win."

Chauncey Billups also scored 20 points for the Nuggets,
including a 3-pointer with 54 seconds left in regulation that
gave them a 104-103 lead. Shaquille O'Neal, who led Los Angeles
with 28 points, made 1-of-2 free throws with 38 seconds to go to
knot the score.

Denver's Antonio McDyess had a chance to win it but missed a
pair of free throws with 20 seconds remaining, sending the game
to overtime.

McDyess led Denver with 22 points and 16 rebounds but was held
scoreless after being hampered by leg cramps midway through the
third quarter.

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant had 26 points, 13 rebounds and nine
assists, coming wthin one assist of his first career
triple-double. The Lakers lost their second road game in as
many nights and visit Vancouver on Tuesday.

Elden Campbell scored 24 points off the bench for Los Angeles.
Both he and O'Neal fouled out down the stretch, allowing
LaFrentz to have his way inside.

"It was big when Shaq went out," said LaFrentz. "It opened up
the middle of the floor. This was a big win and hopefully we
can carry it into this week."

Eric Washington and Danny Fortson each scored 16 points for the
Nuggets, who trailed 88-78 entering the fourth quarter and
102-95 with just over two minutes to play.

But Billups sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a bomb from
Washington to put the Nuggets ahead, 104-103, with less than a
minute to go.

"They hit three 3-pointers in a row," said O'Neal. "They had
three days off and we knew they'd be pumped up. After 11 games,
we're 6-5 and that's not too good."

The Lakers also may have been distracted by all the hoopla
surrounding the acquisition of power forward Dennis Rodman. In
an afternoon news conference, the controversial rebounding
machine admitted he was seeking an agreement with the team.

Rodman reportedly will join the team for practice on Wednesday
and may play Friday, when the Lakers host the Los Angeles
Clippers.

"Dennis Rodman will give us an added spark," added O'Neal. "He
will get some rebounds and will be a boost to the team. We
still have a long way to go."

Los Angeles shot 48 percent (44-of-92) and held a 49-45
advantage on the boards while limiting the Nuggets to 42 percent
(33-of-79) from the field.

The Lakers held an astounding 60-28 lead in points in the paint,
but were victimized by 12 3-pointers by Denver, including nine
over the final 17 minutes.

The Nuggets established a season high for first-half points en
route to a 61-56 lead. But after McDyess was forced out of
action, Los Angeles went on what appeared to be a decisive run.

Travis Knight hit a nine-foot jumper that knotted the score at
68-68 with seven minutes left in the third quarter and Bryant
scored eight points during a 20-10 quarter-ending run that
opened a 10-point bulge with 12 minutes to play.

Although he was unable to score upon his return, McDyess did
manage to draw some crucial fouls, including O'Neal's sixth, and
grab some rebounds to spark the late rally.

"It was the Willis Reed thing tonight," said Van Exel. "McDyess
leaves and we're up, then he goes out and we're down. He's a
great spark for us."